Means for saving fuel and promoting combustion in furnaces and the like.



W. B. EVANS.

MEANS FOR SAVING FUEL. AND PROMOTING COMBUSTION IN FURNACES AND THELIKE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1913.

1,129,656, Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Z SHEETSSHEET 1. Ila-9 Jm -M W W. B. EVANS.

MEANS FOR SAVING FUEL AND PROMOTING COMBUSTION IN FURNACES AND THE LIKE.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV.28,1913.

1, 1 29,656. Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WILLIAM B.

EVANS, F iEHl'LADELPI-IIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNUE 01E QNE- 'EALTE'TQERNEST H. GERHAEDT, 0E PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

MEANS FOR SAVING FUEL AND PROMO'IKNG COMBUSTION IN FURNACES AND THELIKE,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgmtgqjl E b, 23 1915 Applicationfiled November 28, 1913. Serial No. 803,496.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, l/VILLIAM l3 Evans, citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia therebyefieoting a material saving in fuel and incidently but effectivelydecreasing the amount of smoke emitted from the stack or chimney. I

In carrying my invention into effect, if arrange air heating elements ateach side of the furnace, in front of the oridge-wall and shove thegrate and provide such elements with air-inlet conduits extending outside the furnace and with hot air discharging ports within the furnace,the construction and arrangement of parts being such as will hehereinafter fully described, that air drawn into the air heatingelements from outside the furnace will be heated in air heating elementsand forcibly in ectedi in substantially a horizontal direction acrossthe fire-box of the furnace from both sides thereof, and co-minglingwith the combustible gases emanating from the burning fuel, will,according to well understood principles, promote the combustion of saidgases, thereby; decreasing the consumption of fuel for given amounts ofheat, developed and, incidently but materially, decreasing the amount ofunconsumed and non-utilized products of combustion ordinarilyallowed toescape through the stack or chimney of the furnace.

ln the accompanying drawing in which i have illustrated my invention:Figure l is a vertical longitudinal, sectional view of a portion of afurnace, of well known type, having my improvements applied. Fig, 2 is avertical, transverse, sectional view on the line w-z'c of Fig 1. Fig. 3is a horizontal,

sectional view'of one of a series of air heating elements located, asshown in Figs, 1 and 2, in the side walls of the furnace. Fig. 4 is afront elevation of the air heating element shown in section in Fig. 3.Fig. 5 is a vertical, sectional View of a portion of the side wall ofthe furnace having the air heating element, shown in Figs. 3 and l, inposition therein, said Figs. 3, l, and 5 being drawn to an enlargedscale from that of Figs. 1 and 2.

The furnace shown in the drawing comprises the ash-pit 1, having a door2, the fire-box 3, having'a door 4, the bridge-wall 6, and combustionchamber 7, the front wall 8, the side walls 9, lined with fire-brick 10,and a grate 11. A baffle plate 12, and a. portion 13,-of a boiler arealso shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing to illustrate the re spectivepositions of these parts, The furnace illustrated in the drawing and theparts of which have heen designated above by numerals, is of in ordinaryand well known type and while have illustrated and will proceed todescribe my invention as applied to the type shown, I wish it to heunderstood that my invention is applicable to many other types offurnace without material alteration or change of its construction andarrangement.

In the fire-brick lining 10, on both sides of the firebox 3, I arrange aseries of air heating elements 14, these air heating elements being ofthe same thickness and width as the individual fire-brick of whichlining is composed, that is, approximately two and one-half inches thickby five inches wide, being preferably of this size so that a row of theair-heating elements will replace a row of the lire-brick and theair-heating elements will thus become, practically, an

in-tegral'part of the firehriclr lining of he furnace.

The air-heating elements are arranged in series on a horizontal lineintermediate of the top of the grate ll, and the top'of the bridge-Wall6. Theedges of the air heating elements are flush witi the surface ofthe.

fire-hriclr lining and the spaces between the several elements and atthe ends of the same Sill are filled in with pieces of fire-brick, asshown, so as to preserve the continuity of the surface of the side wallsof the furnace.

The construction of one of the air-heating elements employed is shown indetail in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, to which figures I'will now particularlyrefer.

Each air-heating element is a hollow rectangular body, 14, preferably ofcast iron, and having a cover 15, secured in position by bolts 16, shownin dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 5. The hollow interior of each airheatingelement is formed with a longitudinally. disposed vertical partition 17,which extends from one' end to near the other end of the hollowinterior, dividing the same into two parallel chambers, designatedrespectively 18, and 19. The chamber 18,which is wider than the chamber19, is provided with vertically disposed staggered wings 20, and 21, thealternating wings 20 extending respectively from the rear wall ofelement 14, toward the partition 17, and the wings 21,

extending from the partition 17, toward the rear wall and forming in thechamber 18, a sinuous passage beginning at one end of the chamber 18,and communicating atthe opposite end with the chamber 19, and a boss 22,having an opening 23, being formed-on the lid 15, for the attachment ofan air pipe by means of which air is supplied to the chamber 18.

The vertical front wall of the element 14, is formed with a rectangularcavity 24, and a series of short air jet pipes, .25, and 26, are set inholes in said front wall and project through the cavity 24, their outerends being flush with the outer surface of element 14,

and the space around the jet-pipes 25, and 26, being filled in with afire resisting cement 27.

The outer ends of the jet-pipes 25, and 26, are formed with perforations28, and 29, respectively, the former being larger than the latter, andthe jet pipes 25, and 26, alternate in position so that the air issuingfrom the perforations in one set of jet pipes, that is from the jet ipeshaving the larger perforations, will e projected farther across thefurnace than the air from the other and alternating set of jet pipes,thus producing a more even and more widely distributed supply of airthan if the perforations in all of the jet pipes were of the same size.This distribution of the air is illustrated in Fig. 2, where the thin,straight and curved arrows indicate the course of the air from one classof perforations, while the heavier straight and curved arrows indicatethe course of the air from the other class of 1,1ae,eee

Air is simultaneously supplied to the ele- .ments 14, on each side ofthe furnace, by

means of a main supply pipe 28', having T couplings 29' and an elbow 30to which are connected short branch pipes 31, screwing into the openings23, in the bosses 22, on the covers 15.

Each main supply pipe 28' projects through the front wall of the furnaceand is provided with a trumpet or bell-shaped end 32.

As provision must be made for the accommodation of the air supply pipesin thefirebrick lining, I remove a portion of the row of fire-brick ineach side wall above the airheating elements 14, and after the latterhave been placed in position, I surround the air supply pipes withcement 33 and place a scribed, can, of course, be inserted in place.

in a furnace while the furnace is being constructed, it will be observedthat the apparatus is so designed and constructed that it can be veryreadily and easily applied to a furnace which has been completed merelyby removing a portion of two rows of the fire-brick lining on each sideof the furnace for the reception of the air heatin elements and theirair supply pipes and y boring holes in the front wall of the furnace toreceive the outwardly extending end of the main air supply pipes 28.

In action the apparatus operates as follows: When the fire is burningthe air from outside the furnace being freely admitted into the airheating elements through supply pipes 28, follows the course indicatedby the arrows in Fig. 3, through chamber 18, andthence around the end ofartition 17, into chamber 19, being graduall y heated in its passagethrough these chambers by the heated walls of these chambers and isfinally injected into the fire-box in substantially the form of a broadfilm or spray, as indicated by the thin and thick arrows in Fig. 2, andcommingling with the products of combustionfrom the burning fuel,results in more perfect combustion than would be effected under ordinaryconditions and a consequent material saving of fuel and diminution ofsmoke and other unconsumed products.

I claim a 1. The combination in a furnace of a plurality of air heatingelements located in the side walls thereof, the elements in each sidewall being provided with .an air supply pipe leading to the outside ofthe furnace, each element consisting of a hollow body having a central,vertical partition with lateral wings on one side dividing the hollowinterior of the element into two chainhers, one of which is straightandthe other of which has a sinuous form, jet pipes extending from thestraight chamber to the exterior of the said hollow body, said jet pipeshaving perforations in their enter ends, certain of said jet pipeshaving per iorations in their outer ends of larger size than other ofsaid jet pipes and the jet pipes having the larger and smallerperforations alternating in position in the said hollow Elli body, saidhollow body having a cavity in its front well through which the jetsproj cot and said cavity around the jets losing filled with fireresisting cement.

2. The combination with a fire-brick lined furnace, of a plurality ofair heating elements located in the lining on both sides of thefire-box, the elements on each side being connected to a main air supplypipe having an inlet end external to said fire-box, each suchair-heating element being composed of a hollow body having. a sinuouschamber and a communicating straight chamher, jet pipes leading one ofthe chamhem in the interior of hollow body to the ere terior of thesame, alternating jet pipes heing provided with perforations in theirends of larger and smaller size respwtively,

3. The combination with a fire-hrick-lined tnrnace, of a plurality ofair heating eleinternal chamber, a series of jet pipes leading from saidchamber, alternating jet pipes losing provided with perforations intheir ends of larger and smaller size respectively,

l. air heating element for furnaces, consisting of a hollow metallicblock having a cavity in its irontwall, a series of air jet pipes set insaid front wall and extending into said cavity and a fire resistingcement filling arranged in said cavity and surrounding and protectingsaid jet pipes in testimony whereof l aiiix my signature in PIQSQfi-E oftwo witnesses.

WlLLlAM B, EVANS,

Witnesses:

Josnrn hi. SMITH,

lilrosninn l hictlc'mnn,

